On the recordMarch 6, 2012
As a sponsor of this bipartisan legislation, I support the rule on H.R. 2842, and I encourage an open debate because I believe the merits of this bill will speak for themselves. H.R. 2842 is a bipartisan plan to authorize new hydropower production and streamline the regulatory process in order to create new American jobs. Many rural water and irrigation districts and electric utilities in western States seek to develop hydropower on Bureau of Reclamation water canals and pipelines, but overburdensome and unnecessary regulations stand in the way and discourage investment in these projects. Most of these small projects are not currently authorized at Bureau of Reclamation canals and, as a result, they never get off the ground. Those that are currently authorized are subject to an additional review process under the National Environmental Policy Act even though the canals on which they are built have already gone through a full environmental review when they were constructed or rehabilitated. H.R. 2842 authorizes the production of hydropower at all Bureau of Reclamation conduits; and by doing so, it allows placement of small hydropower generators on existing man-made canals and pipes that have already gone through the NEPA process. This authorization does not currently exist, and therefore hydropower development under current reclamation law will not happen unless Congress acts.…
